Fishing boats are commonly equipped with secondary propulsion means such as electric trolling motors that supplement the primary internal combustion motors. The trolling motor is used to provide quiet propulsion at slow speeds during fishing operations.
When not in use, the trolling motor is stored out of the water, in order to minimize drag on the boat and to prevent damage to the trolling motor when the boat is propelled by the main motor. Prior art trolling motor mounting apparatuses typically require a manual raising and lowering of the trolling motor. Thus to ready the boat for trolling operations, the fisherman must go over to the trolling motor and lower the trolling motor into the water before going to his fishing position. When the fisherman is finished trolling and ready to use the main motor, he must go back over to the trolling motor and lift the trolling motor out of the water to its stowed position. It would be more convenient and easier for the fisherman if the trolling motor could be automatically raised and lowered.
Hamp, U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,443 exemplifies another type of motor mounting apparatus. A small electric motor is provided to automatically raise and lower the trolling motor. The trolling motor and the positioning motor share the same battery. A disadvantage with this type of motor mounting apparatus is that the positioning motor drains the battery and reduces the length of time that the trolling motor can be operated before recharging the battery. The reduction in trolling motor running time becomes noticeable if the positioning motor is frequently used. This same disadvantage is applicable to hydraulically actuated motor mounting apparatuses, which use electrical power from a battery to power the hydraulic pump. Another disadvantage with these types of motor mounting apparatuses is that the trolling motor can be inadvertently left in the down position, which may result in damage to the trolling motor if the boat is operated at high speed by the main motor.